KC, I'd go back to the 70s and go and see David Bowie's Spiders tour.

But aside from that there is not time I would rather be at than this one, just with more money!

======= Date Modified 24 Mar 2010 11:26:17 =======
======= Date Modified 24 Mar 2010 11:24:44 =======
Hi Sneaks, I went to a massive, mixed, comprehensive school. It was a complete disaster academically, I left with one GCSE! In Geography... I had been in top sets across the board, but was put into remedial for English for almost all of my fourth year (the same teach banned me from any extra curricular activities, so my passion for drama went down the swanny), because I'd been playing up a bit due to difficulties at home - I'd been sat at the back, talking in class. I just didn't have the strength to deal with it: remedial is pretty traumatic when you're bright, and it was populated by some really rough kids, so I fell into a kind of depression and just stopped going to most of my lessons, and none of the teachers ever noticed! They were alll totally suprised when I didn't get my exams (I didn't go to more than one of them...).

However! It was also an amazing experience in terms of my personal life; I met some of the best people of my life so far, I think they did, literally, save my life at that time. I LOVE school re-unions, and am still close friends with several people from school - I see them regularly - in fact we are all travelling to another city for a lecture tonight. None of my group of really close friends did well academically at school (actually one of my other friends did, but her mum removed her in the sixth form and sent her to a girl's grammar instead) we've all done very well afterwards, mostly as creatives. One of my friends has been a senior lecturer for over ten years and runs one of the top two undergrad courses of its kind in the country. I think we are strong people who look after eachother, and that that is more valuable than the academic stuff - I was lucky to find myself with such people!

Oh and I meant to say also that a frequent topic for discussion at school re-unions is the problem we all have with grammar and puntuation, and I can tell face book postings from my old comp firends a mile off, they're an aposrophe lover's nightmare! One friend has just taken her GCSE in English language again, at the age of 41, and is ecstatic to have gained over a C grade. And the talk we are going to tonight is about developments in the English language, we all have this thing about it, we're always trying to compensate! One friend married a high flying English teacher who corrects her past particles (?????) and other technical sounding things and I spent ages reading about grammar, punctuation, writing style this summer.

Hi Natassia, something that's struck me about this thread is that socialising is so much harder when we are skit PhDs, but we need the social life more because of the solitary nature of what we do...

I'm going to join a knitting and crochet circle! It's free and really sociable, they make joint projects for local art exhibitions, and the girls who run it look very young to me, earl 20s, so it's not just a granny thing. Although, from the photos on their website there are a good range of ages involved.

Most of the year, I live off very little money, walk everywhere, live off lentils buy very few new clothes etc, but I can't add anything else to what has already been said. My flat is very cheap to heat, which helps, it's very well insulated, south facing and has huge bay windows in the main rooms, so it operates like a greenhouse of there is the slightest bit of sunshine.

Well, look at you Wally, with your high profile peer review, and everything! Soon you'll only be posting on n the Professors R Us forum...

======= Date Modified 22 Mar 2010 15:05:40 =======
Yeah, amongst my friends there have been 4 new babies (all beautiful and healthy) in the last 3 years and we're all late 30s and 40s, so you can do it. The plus side is that these women are very stable and strong on themselves, and their relationships are strong too. Most have either good finances themselves or a partner with a good steady income etc and have worked out their family realtionships.

Although I can certainly see the advantage of having children young, I often wish I had, and they'd be practically grown up by now; but when I was younger, I thought I might have them older, when I'd done all the other stuff, but I'm still doing the other stuff and don't want to stop! So there goes, maybe I will only ever really want to do the other stuff.

Hi MissGeography, luckily I do not have this problem at my department, not so far anyhow (fingers crossed). However, I have worked with people like this, and my past PhD department was very similar: layers of petty intrigue and back stabbing, unfortunately. I reckon loads of departments are like this.

======= Date Modified 21 Mar 2010 19:52:16 =======
Hi Florence. I'm guessing I'm quite a bit older than you, I'm 40, but I can very much relate to your post, even though I am single so children are not on the agenda for me, maye in another life, but not mine as it is at the moment.

I feel that life is passing me by because I am so poor, and will be until the PhD ends, which could take another 4 years - I am part-time and self funded. It means I worry constantly about money, I can't pursue interests such as yoga and dancing the way I want because I can't afford the classes, and there are social things I can't afford to do. Some of my friends have this whole other life apart from me, and I can't wait for the day when I can join in with them. Maybe even go on holiday once in a while.

I think if you want children with your fiance more than anything in the world, then that is what you should prioritise. Why not have a baby during the year most of us willl spend when the PhD is finished and we are looking for another job? You could still do some research, get some work published. I have heard that baby care and research/writing can sit reasonably well together. Or you may be able to get matrnity leave as a PhD - possibly this is a very good time.

I am a firm believer in the positive power of jealousy: It tells what we really want in life. I get jealous of people with good publication records and who give brilliant papers. I'm also jealous of people with beautiful open plan Frank Loyd Wright style flats by the sea, with spare rooms for their friends and office space. I don't know what that says about me!

======= Date Modified 21 Mar 2010 11:48:54 =======
double posting again... ????

Walter Benjamin is brilliant. He uses language anyone with a grasp of the English language can understand. There may be a few words to look up, but they are not put there out of a laziness which draws on technical shorthand, or gratuitously.

In fact, I think I may read some of his stuff for fun over the Easter holidays...


Luckily, my sup is into straighforward, accessible prose. I do use big words sometimes, but only if they will really help the writing in its flow and meaning. I also try to use beautiful words (beauty and accesibility, in my writing, are the ideal, maybe one day I will get there).

It's such a beautiful day where I am! Am gong out to enjoy it: bumppphhh to the lectures I have to write...

======= Date Modified 20 Mar 2010 12:50:54 =======
I'd like to break the mold here and say that if I were 20 years younger, had the size 8 figure for it, and the ummppphhhhh I owuld be prancing about in gold disco leggins no problem - especially on a dancefoor on a saturday nght. I quiute like the fancy, crazy patterned leggin look ala Rod Stewart; he has always been a cultural hero of mine, ever since I was 3 year old and often sang 'if you want my money, and you think I'm sexy' with a broom handle as a mike stand for the amusement of my family.

However, as it is, I do, like Natassia, wear black leggins under skirts and dresses. maybe I could get away with gold ones under an all black outfit? Perhaps, perhaps...

I have just realised that this forum is fast becoming a personal food log!

======= Date Modified 20 Mar 2010 11:14:06 =======
Beans on toast is good: protien and carbs, and tasty too. Or pasta with pesto. Or... leftovers. I often make a load of curry (curry is from a jar so really easy), spag bol, chilli or similar and then have leftovers for lunch. Very nice too.

There is also cheese on toast; lentil and tomato dhal, which needs hald an hour cooking, but is just a matter of throwing lentils, tinned tomatoes and water in a pan with some herbs and seasoning; errrmmmm, omlettes; and the fabulous tinned mackerel in chili (they have other flavours but chilli is my fave) from tescos plonked on a pile of new or otherwise potatoes - you only need to cook the spuds. Today I am having a fishcake which was reduced in Tescos with some baked beans and potato wedges.

I love wally's super healthy suggestions. I haven't dared eat a pot needle for over ten years, maybe I should try it.

======= Date Modified 20 Mar 2010 00:22:56 =======
Hi Cakegirl, yeah, I always do well at conferences so I'll probably be ok. It does actually feel a it unfair that degrees I took over ten years ago, and one at which there was no way on earth the lecturers would give any student a first, have such a bearing on funding now, especially if my current performance is equal to my peers. I struggle horrendously with finances, as any unfunded PhD does - in a way I feel that my dedication in having done this for so long could be recognised as a kind of top up to my degree classes! I suspect sime funded students would not make such sacrifices, and maybe not be such dedicated academics - but, of course, I would think that. However, I do accept that this is the system,a nd that this is how the decisions are made. I guess the whole places in piles thing that has to go along with funding allocation makes comparisons necessary. I think discussions around here in which some funded PhDs have said they think self-funded students are not as good academically have made me feel a bit self conscious about that, especially at the moment with this news and with me feeling all sensitive anyway.

I totally agree that he saved me a lot of time and effort, Id much rather be told this way than go through the whole application process.

Thank you Teek, I'm feeling super sensitive, I guess. And his response was possibly the best I could get outside of offering me some money. He is usually very honest about my performance etc and lets me know about any shortfalls, so his word is reliable.

Thank you again, Teek, have some love: :-x

Yeah, I saw a paper recently that was all about literary adaptations on tv and the academic was all gushing with his discovery that some people on a blog had come to the same conclusions he had, and they weren't even officially clever, or anything. He had a special word for people who discuss flm and tv literary adaptations but are not academics! I can't remember it now but it was very long and latin sounding.